Surgical procedures are often performed in surgical fields which are of a limited size or beneath the skin. With respect to endoscopic procedures, there are several methods for viewing the body interior. For example, the surgeon may look directly through the eyepiece of the endoscope. Alternatively, a beam splitter may be used to provide a second eyepiece for a surgical assistant to simultaneously view the surgical field. For those instances where more than two simultaneous views are necessary, the second view is replaced with a video camera. Splitting the beam between the eyepiece and video camera allows the surgeon to view the surgical field in a high resolution display while the video camera and monitor allow the remaining members of the surgical team to view the procedure. Alternatively, a video camera is mounted directly to the endoscope and one or more monitors are located about the operating environment so that the surgical team may view the field.
Alternatively, liquid crystal display (LCD) monitors can be employed. However, the LCD monitors have a limited viewing angle and an LCD having a sufficient size to permit sufficiently high resolution creates a substantial intrusion to the operating environment. In addition, the LCD monitors are nondisposable, thereby creating a sterilization problem. Further, the accompanying electronics and wires add undesired clutter to the operating environment.
The disadvantages of the prior systems include disorientation created by locating the monitor or projected image of the surgical field remotely from the surgical field. This disorientation is enhanced by the surgeon being unable to view the area of the surgical field and their hands simultaneously. In addition, forcing the surgeon to focus on an image at a relatively large distance while the surgeon's hands are adjacent the body is an unnatural perspective detrimental to the efficiency of surgeons. In addition, constraints on the available locations of the video monitors relative to the surgical field are such that the direction of movement of an instrument within the surgical field is often not translated into a movement in the same direction in the projected image.
Therefore, a need exists for a video display system for an operating environment, wherein a high resolution projected image of a surgical field or other video information may be located adjacent the surgical field or in a viewing orientation which is optimal to the surgeon. In addition, the need exists for a video display system which presents an image which is consistent with the direction of movement within the surgical field. The need also exists for a sterile disposable screen that can sustain permitting contact with the surgical team, or blood and other bodily fluids during the surgical procedure. The need further exists for a single-use sterile viewing screen which precludes resterilization by degrading. Thus, the display screen will degrade to an inoperative configuration upon washing and resterilization. As a new sterile display screen must be used for each procedure, sterility and optical quality are ensured. The need also exists for a viewing screen which may be located at a favorable viewing angle without jeopardizing the integrity of the projected image. A need further exists for a projector and display screen which are physically linked so that a reorientation of the screen causes a corresponding reorientation of the projector to maintain the integrity of the displayed image. A need further exists for a screen support which enables the screen to be easily and quickly repositioned within the surgical field and which enables the surgical team to easily grasp and move the system without comprising their sterile status. A need further exists for a simple screen mounting system which can mount a viewing screen in a stable orientation.